At the beginning of the season, the Columbia College men’s basketball players thought success was inevitable. Now the Cougars are finally forcing their competition to think that too.“It was destined to happen,” Cougars guard Terrance Smith said. “We just had to figure out what we had to do on a consistent basis.”

The Cougars (16-10, 5-1) have won 10 of 12 since returning from winter break Jan. 4 and have re-established the team’s competitiveness in the American Midwest Conference.